Tagged: awkward questions

It’s time for the holidays! Which means peace, joy, good will, food, parties and oh, those awkward encounters with your relatives!
Relatives like to give squishy, uncomfortable hugs and ask lots of questions. What kind of questions do you get asked when you visit home for the holidays?

This is not a conversation starter, family / IMAGE VIA boundless.org

Here are some of the classically awkward:
1) “Are you seeing anyone? Why are you still single?”
2) “Do you have a job yet?”
3) “You’ll come stay with us over the summer, won’t you?”
4) “Why don’t you call me anymore?”
5) “What are your grades like?”
6) “When did you get that tattoo?”
7) “What do you do on the weekends?”

And here are some of the awkward and weird that I’ve heard:
1) “So, I suppose all that money I’m sending you is going to pizza and beer, right?”
Answer: “Uhh.” (Is this supposed to be a condescending or funny?)
2) “How’s the party scene?”
Answer: “Oh, I study on the weekends!”
3) “You haven’t gone and become a communist on me, have you?”
Answer: Weird glare. (Liberal arts doesn’t mean communism, family.)
4) “I miss college. I want to go back and take some classes. What would you think of that?”
Answer: Yeah, no.
5) “Can I read your papers?”
Answer: I’ve already had them criticized enough, thanks!

Probably not the best response to the question about your tattoo / IMAGE VIA critink.tumblr.com

I’m sure there are many more awkward questions we all get each time we go home. When these questions arise, you typically have three options:

-Be honest. But that might get you into a lot of trouble, unless you have answers that are generally agreeable with your family, which isn’t usually the case.
-Lie. But that involves thinking on your toes, which you might not be able to do. In fact, after finals, you might not be able to think at all.
-Dodge around the question. “Oh, Aunt Sue, did you bring your green bean casserole today? It looks awesome.” “How’s Mr. Snuggles doing?” Or just laugh, smile and nod. They will be satisfied, and you won’t have answered the question.

Protip! Talk about school stuff. That way, it’ll be relevant, you won’t be lying and best of all, you can avoid talking about your personal life!

Here’s wishing you the best of the holidays and a smooth route out of those awkward holiday questions.